KARACHI: Warrants issued against ex-IG on Asif’s plea
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 17: The additional district and sessions judge, South, Munawwar Sultana, issued on Thursday non-bailable warrants for the arrest of former Sindh police chief Rana Maqbool Ahmed, former city police chief Farooq Amin Qureshi and others in a case pertaining to an attempt on the life of Asif Ali Zardari.
The judge ordered the police to arrest the former IGP, former DIG, former chief of defunct Ehtesab Cell, Saifur Rehman, his brother Mujeebur Rehman and SP Najaf Mirza, who were booked by the Artillery Maidan police in the case on the order of the court.
The court had ordered registration of a case against them on an application filed by Mr Zardari, who alleged that an attempt was made on his life on the orders of the accused when he was in the police custody for interrogation in the Justice Nizam murder case.
The judge ordered the police to produce the accused before the court on Dec 17.
Mr Zardari was initially arrested in November 1996 immediately after the dismissal of his wife’s government and was detained at Sehala Rest House under Maintenance of Public Order.
His detention under MPO was challenged by Benazir Bhutto in the Lahore High Court and the advocate general of Punjab stated in the court that the detention orders had been withdrawn.
However, on the same day the husband of the former prime minister was shifted to Karachi in the evening and his detention was shown under MPO. Again the said order was challenged in the Sindh High Court through a constitutional petition which was allowed by the SHC on Dec 18, 1996.
Mr Zardari’s release was shown on December 19, 1996, but he was arrested in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case by crime branch police from the gate of the Landhi jail.
In his application, he alleged that he was then taken to the Artillery Maidan police station where he was tortured for five days and then again sent to the Landhi jail.
Mr Zardari submitted in his application that later he was implicated in the Justice Nizam murder case. He stated that the court had granted bail before arrest to him on March 12, 1999 in the Mir Murtaza murder case, but the police detained him at Civil Lines police station, where he was severely tortured.
He said the investigators lodged two cases of attempt to commit suicide against him to save their skin. He, however, said that he was acquitted in the cases.
He prayed the court to order the registration of attempt to murder case against the former IGP, Sindh, former DIG, Karachi, and others. The court granted his application and the accused were booked in the case.
CONVICTED: The additional district and sessions judge, South, Ms Sher Bano Karim, sentenced a reckless driver to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years for killing a woman.
The judge also imposed a Diyat (fine) equivalent to the value of 30.63 kgs of silver on bus driver Mohammed Riyaz, who would have to undergo an additional one-year term in case of default on payment.
The driver had caused the death of a young woman, Yasmen, and injuries to her younger brother, Tariq, when he hit their motorcycle on June 14, 1999 in Arambagh police precincts.
CONTEMPT NOTICE: The additional district and sessions judge, West, Sirajuddin Qureshi, issued contempt of court notice to the Orangi Town naizm, Abdul Haq for not complying with the repeated orders of the court.
The court had sent a compromise deed between a bus driver and the family of an accident victim for verification to the town nazim. However, the town nazim neither verified the deed, nor did he send any reply to the court.
Driver Hasan Gul was sentenced to suffer a four-year term for killing Imran in a traffic accident on Jan 31 this year. However, later on Feb 19 the driver and the victim’s family struck a compromise. The compromise deed was submitted to the court for the release of the driver, who was pardoned by the victim’s family.
